Proposition 3-17

guiness shamrock
Originally uploaded by mikedemers

I ended up calling out sick today -- this cold just won out and I needed to sleep and let my body heal. Thankfully it is the weekend, and I can just veg out now. While I was tossing and turning through fever-induced dreams, it occurred to me that there aren't any holidays between New Years and Memorial Day. Sure, there is Valentine's Day and Fat Tuesday, but we don't get off of work for those. Even President's Day only benefits those who work at banks, post offices, etc.

Thankfully, the fine folks at Guiness have realized the same thing. They've started an online petition to make St. Patrick's Day an official holiday in the United States. They hope to present congress with one million signatures by midnight on March 16th. I'm all for this idea because the last few years, I haven't braved the crowds to celebrate the holiday. If I could celebrate at any time during the day, then that would be perfect.

Wait, what? Are you serious? Guiness mixed with Jamison and Bailey's Irish cream isn't a health food? Well, thankfully there are some low carb St. Patrick's Day dishes. Both the pub salad and cheese tart sound great and the Irish coffee will help you stay hip while everyone else is drinking their pints.

Back on Track

Mt Vernon Track, Winter
Originally uploaded by Joe in MV

I need to say two things before getting to the meat and potatoes of this post:

1. I'm sorry that it's been nearly a week since I posted.
2. Thank you to Nik and Dan from 4 Feet Running for getting me back on track.

Since I baked my oatmeal bacon cookies back before Christmas, my weight has been steadily going up. It's no mystery why -- I was enjoying things like cookies, marshmallow salad and cheesecake. The further I got off my eating plan during the holidays, the less accountable I wanted to be. This included not updating my blog, food journal and exercise tracker. In fact, I was about ready to log in to Blogger and hit the delete button on this blog until just a few minutes ago.

I'm looking to get new shoes for walking and I remembered the guys at 4 Feet Running talking about getting fitted for shoes. I hopped over to their site to see if they had any information on the topic and lo and behold, there was a link to my blog! I had no idea that anyone even knew about my ramblings. But for some reason, the little gesture of someone linking to my blog has inspired me to get back on track.

I'll be posting more soon about my plans for January, but I'm not going to wait until the 1st to start eating right again. I have chicken and broccoli meals in the freezer now, ready to be microwaved and eaten in about five minutes.

Santa Claus on a Diet?

Santa Claus
Originally uploaded by fabbriciuse

When I was younger, I always got so excited on Christmas Eve. I would diligently put out the cookies for Santa and then lay in bed, desperately trying to fall asleep so that when I woke up, it would be Christmas. However, I never once though of Santa Claus as a role model. I never said "Hey, when I grow up, I want to be a jolly fat man with a bowl made of jelly." However, the acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven K. Galson thinks that Santa should be a better role model for children.

"It is really important that the people who kids look up to as role models are in good shape, eating well and getting exercise," acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven K. Galson was reported as saying after a recent presentation on obesity.

Santa has respectfully said "no, no, no" to going on a diet. Thankfully, except for a few bureaucrats who like to hear themselves pontificate, most people seem to understand that Santa isn't there to be a fitness role model. In fact, Susen Mesco, president of an event planning company American Events, put things in to good perspective.

"We have so many things to worry about in the universe besides Santa saying Merry Christmas, 'ho ho ho' and what Santa's chowing down on."

Besides, Ronald McDonald is slim -- does that make him a good role model for children? If you want kids to learn about fitness through hamburgers, french fries and milk shakes, I guess so.

Vote Against Prohibition!

Vote Against Prohibition!
Originally uploaded by spike55151

On this day in 1933, Utah was the last state needed to ratify the 21st amendment. Since then, Americans have been able to enjoy alcohol again. Conveniently, this day is between Thanksgiving and Christmas, giving us one more holiday to celebrate during the holiday season!

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.

Frank Zappa

For more information, check out the Repeal Day website.